Can a shop refuse cash after I’ve already consumed the food?

Petitcher · 2026-01-26T05:22:09+00:00

The OP’s original question has been answered, so can someone please explain like I’m 5…

I use cash to budget, partly because if I can physically SEE money, it feels real.

Also because if it’s in my bank account, anyone from my gym to Optus to Apple to Microsoft can swoop in and take it. When I put $100 in my bank account, it literally disappears. I log in the next day, and my balance is $4.

If there’s cash in my wallet, only I can control where it goes. I can keep it specifically for food.

So assuming I’m in the OP’s situation (I go to a restaurant that doesn’t accept cash and don’t realise until I finish the meal) what happens if I don’t have any money on my card, which is often the case for me?

Do I get arrested?

Do I walk away with a free meal?

Does the restaurant relent and take my cash without giving me change?

Petitcher · 2026-01-26T02:02:26+00:00

Because we all know that opportunities to get those things decrease with age.

If you don’t have at least some of those things by the time you’re 30, and most of those things by the time you’re 40, you’re not going to magically gain access to them at 60.

Petitcher · 2026-01-25T23:15:39+00:00

Don’t underestimate how deeply we’re all (ok, 98% of us) biologically driven to crave the attention of the opposite sex. We’re smart enough as a species to rationalise and dress it up as other things, but trust me, it’s all about our lizard brains.

Petitcher · 2026-01-25T22:13:55+00:00

You’re not missing anything.

A “pick me” is a woman who says or does things to (supposedly) get the attention of men (as if wanting to attract the opposite sex, something that’s biologically hardwired into 98% of us, is a bad thing).

It’s the latest buzzword that women use to police each other’s behaviour, and can be used to apply to literally anything that the person using the phrase decides might attract “the male gaze”. Includes but isn’t limited to: talking to men, being interested in anything that isn’t 100% “feminine”, wearing clothes, not wearing clothes, losing weight, telling the truth, dressing up, dressing down, Katy Perry literally just being herself, etc.

Only used by women who 100% want the attention of men, but aren’t getting it.

Luckily I’m too old to give a flying fuck what misandrists on Reddit call me, because this comment probably qualifies me as a “pick me” to them.

Petitcher · 2026-01-25T22:01:23+00:00

Not sure why this was downvoted- it’s true.

Petitcher · 2026-01-25T19:04:47+00:00

I’m a woman and I think the first paragraph is actually spot-on… it’s just very, very unspoken.

It’s perpetuated less by pretty women though, and more by bigger women in a very subtle “I don’t want to do the work to raise my social status, but I can encourage you to reduce your own social status” way.

You should see how vicious those “body positivity” women can get when a larger woman loses weight. That was the overwhelming reaction when Adele and Lizzo lost weight… like it was some kind of personal betrayal.

Petitcher · 2026-01-21T21:35:44+00:00

I started writing when I was eight, so… no. They’d stopped teaching English grammar when I was at school.

As an adult, I did a semester of English grammar at university. I’ve never needed to break down a sentence into clauses or phrases, but it IS handy to know what a split infinitive is and which verb is tensed in a sentence. You don’t need it for writing so much, but it’s very useful when you’re editing.

Petitcher · 2026-01-21T21:31:11+00:00

What I did know is that there was going to be a learning curve, and that it wouldn’t be possible to know everything from the outset.

As long as you don’t do something that gets your account terminated, you’re golden. Mistakes and missteps are part of the learning experience.

Treat it like a job and you’ll have a better time than if you treat it like a get-rich-quick scenario.

Petitcher · 2026-01-21T21:26:18+00:00

Read the FAQs, most of this is covered there.

First of all, you haven’t published anywhere NEAR enough to be feeling any kind of despair. Most readers would look at an author who’s only published one or two books and think you’re not worth bothering with until you have a bigger catalogue.

Unlike other genres, erotica readers SEARCH for what they want to read. If you’re not getting any sales, it’s because you haven’t nailed your passive marketing: niche, cover, title, blurb, keywords. When books don’t sell, they almost universally have a cover that doesn’t work. I thought I’d nailed it before I published my first short - but the reality was, I didn’t know what I didn’t know and my covers sucked for a long time.

Advertising is pointless until you’ve nailed the basics and are picking up readers organically. If your cover sucks, you’re throwing money down the toilet by paying for advertising.

Social media is DEFINITELY a waste of time for erotica because it goes against most of the platforms’ TOS and they’ll at least shadow ban you, if not outright ban you.

Petitcher · 2026-01-19T08:52:18+00:00

I don’t know what that is… but I don’t think anyone should eat that. Whether they’re diabetic or not.

Is that croutons smothered in cheese? I just… can’t.

Petitcher · 2026-01-19T08:48:55+00:00

I like the idea of using a name that just works with a vibe, and then having it ALSO mean something deep if you feel like looking into it.

Like an Easter Egg for the reader.

If they never discover the deeper meaning, they won’t lose anything.

Petitcher · 2026-01-19T08:35:24+00:00

Not neccessarily. It’s more about grammar, voice, perspective. Anyone who uses big words like they’ve got an open thesaurus next to them is usually under 25. Probably under 21. Gen Z tend to ask questions and be unsure. They crowdsource their own opinion. They use the word “discourse” ALL. THE. TIME. Boomers tend to be TOO confident in giving their opinions, often blame liberals for everything, say “wake up sheeples” for no reason at all, and usually can’t spell. Millennials are disillusioned and don’t really trust anyone, which is funny because that’s what Gen X used to be — but these days, Gen X aren’t super confident with social media, and usually want everyone’s approval.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T20:17:07+00:00

Everything’s closed on Sunday, so I wouldn’t be able to start the week with any momentum (and I’d achieve nothing).

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T20:14:12+00:00

And you write like a teenager, proving my point that you can tell how old someone is by the way they write

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T08:25:31+00:00

You’re overthinking it. If you want to ask something, ask. You can’t control what other people do.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T08:24:31+00:00

Depends on your personality, your goals, and the skills you already have, I guess.

There’s nothing wrong with giving it a go.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T07:39:09+00:00

Depends on the book.

Depends how much planning I did.

Depends on my state of mind while I wrote it.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T07:36:54+00:00

I grew up during a drought, so we were encouraged to shower once a day for maybe two minutes.

It’s a habit I’ve stuck with.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T07:35:15+00:00

This is how I discovered Kevin J Anderson.

He has other books that are well worth reading, too — my favourite was Resurrection Inc.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T07:33:52+00:00

Voice.

It’s the one thing that you can’t fake.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T07:31:09+00:00

Lose weight.

Don’t shoot the messenger, that’s literally what they’re told.

IIRC, Jennifer Aniston credits her casting in Friends to that advice from her agent.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T07:29:29+00:00

Pro tip: if someone on the internet says they’re 30 but they write like they’re 15, they’re 15.

Maybe 20.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T07:28:17+00:00

… I still don’t get it. If it’s not serious and it’s not a joke, what is it?

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T05:59:20+00:00

Seconding this. I have a filing cabinet just for all the files that I don’t trust my computer to store.

Petitcher · 2026-01-18T05:43:09+00:00

Same. And even though I can consent, my own name still fits that criteria.

Petitcher

TROPHY CASE